


I heard you liked yellow things

by nuuboo (orphan_account)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Community: kakairu, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-21
Updated: 2014-07-21
Packaged: 2018-02-09 21:06:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1997832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/nuuboo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kakashi, Asuma, Genma and Raidou visit a recovering Iruka; Kakashi would probably try stepping up his romantic skill if Genma wasn't so amused by it all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I heard you liked yellow things

The smell of the hospital was always something that Iruka found medium-unpleasant. Not as unpleasant as, say, a trash can, but not as pleasant as a freshly-cleaned apartment. The smell wasn’t  _Spring Apple Fresh!_  or  _Soft Lint_ , but some sterile, sickening scent that made the already ill want to be… well, more ill. Funny how that worked. Thankfully, his stomach was fine. It was, in fact, probably the only place on him that was fine. From the blow to his head to the fractured ribs, the broken wrist, leg and kneecap, he felt like a discarded wool doll that had come apart at the seams. But, as all shinobi were reminded upon waking at the hospital (whether verbally or by looks from staff too used to injury alone), he was alive. And that, he decided, he could be grateful for. 

The door to his room slid open, and he found that turning his head caused an unpleasant throb all up the side of it. In his hurry to take down one opponent, he’d failed to spot the one behind him in time to avoid the lead pipe to his temple, and he was sorely regretting the lack of foresight. 

"Yo," came the signature greeting; a gloved hand raised in greeting, and it was followed by the scent of a lit cigarette, an airy greeting from one Genma Shiranui, and a quiet mumble of, _'Should've knocked'_ , in Raidou’s more pleasant voice. The four men formed a sort of half-circle around Iruka’s bed, and if it were anyone who didn’t know them, they’d have found it intimidating. Iruka, though, had grown fond of Raidou’s brotherly atmosphere, Genma’s casualness, Asuma’s stories of his team, and Kakashi’s… well, that was another story. The personal relationship between Konoha’s finest masked jounin and its finest Academy instructor wasn’t something that stayed hidden for long, despite Iruka’s attempts to seem subtle about it. If anyone was watching, Kakashi’s place right at Iruka’s pillow would’ve been enough indication of their relationship, given his slightly concerned glance and poor attempts at seeming casual about the entire visit altogether. 

Iruka knew that Kakashi had been at his bedside as he rested, watching over him. He said nothing of it. “Get the whole party, do I?” he asked, and was surprised at how hoarse he sounded. “What’s the occasion?”

Asuma chuckled. “Heard you got the shit beat out of you,” he said, motioning to Iruka’s bandaged state with his hand. His cigarette dropped a bit of ash onto the sheet, and Raidou frowned. When he reached for the ashtray, Iruka smiled. 

"You should see the other guys," he grinned, and Genma and Asuma laughed. "Or, what’s left of them."

"That good, huh?" Genma asked, hands on the railing at the foot of his bed. "You look like you’d been held captive in a cave of rabid  _rats,_  ‘r somethin’. How the  _hell’d_  you manage to get knocked on the head like that?”

Iruka made a face. “Hey, it was six to one. I’m allowed one poor move for every three opponents I face alone.” They laughed again, and Iruka smiled. He’d never admit it out loud for fear of sounding lonelier than he was, but their company was appreciated. The fact is that he hadn’t really been lonely in a while. Even before Kakashi’s appearance in his life, Naruto had filled the void that his lack of family left gaping. The boy himself had yet to show up, but Iruka was sure that it was only a matter of time. 

Kakashi shifted, and Iruka glanced over. There was a fistful of something in his hand, and Iruka asked, “What’s that?” There was something in the way that the rest of the guys were smiling that made Iruka half wonder if he wanted to know the answer at all. 

"Mm?" hummed Kakashi, looking uninterested in everything around him. "Oh, just—" He didn’t finish his sentence; instead, he held out a small bouquet of yellow dandelions to Iruka, shrugging.  

Iruka took the little gift with his good hand, and found it  _quite_  difficult to keep the big, touched smile from showing. So he let it. Genma rolled his eyes, and Raidou looked halfway like someone watching their younger sibling date for the first time. “—for me?” Iruka asked, and Kakashi made a grunt that Iruka had learned to mean ‘yes’. He’d learned the entirety of Kakashi’s caveman vocabulary as of late, and it was something he was secretly a bit proud of. 

Kakashi pocketed his hands, slouched in his seat, and continued looking bored. But when Iruka gave him a smile, one would see the Copy Nin’s ears go just a little red. Coupled with his uninterested expression, the reddened ears looked both funny and sweet. 

"I love them," he said, turning the bouquet around in his hands. The flowers were tied together by a white, bent twist-tie— the kind that came with garbage bags. Somehow, Iruka wasn’t the least bit surprised. The twist-tie was wrapped once, and the extra-long ends were bent and curved into a crude bow shape. It looked almost like a heart from certain angles. 

"Really?" asked Kakashi, and Iruka nodded once. "Florist’s was closed," he added nonchalantly, shrugging in his  _'I don't really care about this piece of information, but maybe you would'_  way. Iruka caught the underlying explanation of,  _'Florist's was closed, so I picked you those myself. I did. Me.'_

"They’re better than store stuff," he said, and the expression Genma was making would’ve surely annoyed Kakashi if Kakashi had turned to see it. 

"Really?" he asked again, and he sounded so childishly hopeful about it that Genma actually had to turn around fully to hide his grin. Raidou gave him a look, and Genma responded by using the man’s shoulder as an anchor to stifle his snickering. Asuma huffed, puffing a cloud of smoke into the room. Whether Kakashi was miffed over the snickering from Genma or the smoke in the air was beyond Iruka, but he was glad that Kakashi chose not to do anything about either. 

"Well," said Raidou, "better go. Visiting hours ending. Paperwork." He had that short, distinct way of speaking as though each word he said cost him something that he wasn’t willing to pay, and he’d come about speaking with as little of them as possible. Iruka gave him a smile, and Raidou nodded in return. He pat awkwardly at Iruka’s leg (the closest thing to him), and Iruka was glad that he didn’t wince from the sharp pain it unintentionally caused. 

The three men filed out; Genma waved, Raidou pushing him along, and Asuma announced that Ino and Chouji would be around later with some home-made food to encourage Iruka’s recovery. Kakashi remained, and as the door shut, Iruka laid his hand on Kakashi’s gloved one. “Thank you for these,” he murmured, and Kakashi’s mask came down to reveal a smile in return. 

"Yeah," he replied, and gave Iruka a long, grateful expression. He kept staring, and Iruka kept smiling. "Was worried," he admitted, and Iruka squeezed down on his hand. "You looked pretty banged up when they brought you in." 

"I’m alright," he assured him, and Kakashi nodded. 

From outside the door, Genma’s peeking through the window was causing nearby nurses to stare. “Hey, hey,” he whispered, smacking Raidou’s arm irritatingly. “He’s movin’ in— goin’ in for it— oh, he’s gonna do it—! Hell, Hatake sure works fast. Man’s injured, and all.” Raidou smacked Genma hard on the arm in return, Genma made a pathetic whining noise, and Asuma snorted. 

He remove the cigarette from his mouth and said, “Kakashi… he  _does_  know those are weeds, right?”

And suddenly, there was a dawning silence. It was serene and beautiful for all of thirty seconds, and then Genma’s amused snickering interrupted it. “Oh, man. Oh,  _man.”_

"Someone’s gotta tell him," said Asuma again. Genma had to step away from the door’s window to laugh quietly, fist covering his mouth. 

"Ah, shit— that’s  _too_  good. Oh,  _man._ ”

Raidou’s unimpressed expression to them both caused the two grown men only to laugh more. Asuma waved his cigarette. ”I’m gonna tell him—” 


End file.
